Box Score
March 29, 2014
NORMAL, Ill. - A combined eight home runs highlighted Saturday afternoon's doubleheader between the Illinois State softball team (11-19, 3-2 MVC) and Indiana State (17-13, 2-5 MVC), as the Redbirds and Sycamores split two contests at Marian Kneer Stadium. Indiana State slugged five homers en route to a 12-8, eight-inning victory in game one, before the Redbirds utilized a pair of late long balls to take game two, 4-3.
Jordan de los Reyes led the way offensively for the Redbirds, going 3-for-6 with one home run and six RBI. Regan Romshek also tallied three hits, all doubles, while Brittny Drish and Laura Canopy went deep as well. Kara Repp picked up base hits in each contest, extending her season-high on-base streak to 15 games.
The trio of Romshek, McKensie Vissering and Taylor Baxter all pitched for the Redbirds, with Baxter being the most effective. The senior earned her second win in as many decisions by tossing a complete game in game two and allowing just two earned runs.
Game One - Indiana State 12, Illinois State 8 (8 inn.)
After trailing most of the game, the Redbirds evened the contest with a five-run sixth inning that featured a grand slam from de los Reyes. The Sycamores responded with two of their five home runs in the top of the eighth, however, and held on for the 12-8 extra-inning victory.
Indiana State caught fire early against Romshek (LP, 8-9) with four runs in the first. Morgan Allee belted the first pitch of the game out of the ballpark. Two batters later, Brooke Riemenschneider added to the fire with a two run bomb to straightaway center field, before the Sycamores added one more run on a sacrifice fly to command an early 4-0 lead.
Megan Stone crushed a RBI double off the wall in right center to plate one in the top half of the second inning, before Indiana State added another tally in the top of the fourth inning on Riemenschneider's second home run of the game.
The Redbirds scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Repp singled with two outs to bring home Sara Bradley, who drew a walk to lead off the inning, and cut the Sycamores' lead to 6-1.
Two more runs scored by the Redbirds' offense in the bottom of the fifth inning brought them within striking distance at 6-3. A leadoff walk by Canopy eventually came around to score on a single to left field by de los Reyes. Later in the frame, Stephanie Gallant's RBI single scored de los Reyes to make it a 6-3 game.
Two runs were added by the Sycamore offense in the top of the sixth inning, extending their lead to 8-3, but the Redbird offense responded in the bottom half by tying the game up at 8-8. An error by the Sycamore first baseman allowed a run to cross home plate, before de los Reyes' mammoth grand slam, her league-leading eighth home run of the season, evened the contest.
Both teams were held scoreless in the seventh inning moving to extras. In the top of the eighth inning, Indiana State regained the lead with two two-run homeruns. Stone's hit a blast that cleared the right field wall, before Dickerson sent one out to left that made it a 12-8 Indiana State lead.
ISU threatened in the bottom of the eighth, but left the bases loaded to end the game.
Game Two - Illinois State 4, Indiana State 3
Two fifth-inning home runs from Drish and Canopy erased a 3-1 deficit, as the Redbirds rode timely hitting and Baxter's (WP, 3-10) strong outing to the win.
The Redbirds gained an early 1-0 advantage in the bottom of the first, when de los Reyes singled to score Harrison and make it 1-0.
Indiana State bounced back with the game's next three runs. Two came in the second, on a Riemenschneider RBI single and a Redbird error, making it 2-1. The Sycamores tacked on another in the top of the fifth, when Shelby Wilson came through with a two-out RBI single.
The Illinois State offense awoke in the bottom half of the fifth with three runs on two homers. Drish led off the frame with a solo blast to left field, her first of the season, to bring ISU back within one, 3-2. Repp followed with a single and scored two batters later on Canopy's blast to center field, her second home run of the campaign, which gave ISU the lead for good.
Once her offense gave her the lead back, Baxter slammed the door by pitching a scoreless final two innings. Baxter scattered five hits in the complete game, her first since Feb. 28, while walking five and striking out two.
The Redbirds and Sycamores will vie for the series victory, Sunday at noon.
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